None but Wang Lin knew the truth. How many Bridges of Ascendancy had he traversed this time? Not even the Grand Empyrean Gu Dao, who had faltered at the sixth bridge on the Ancient Dao Mountain, could perceive it clearly.

He only knew that Wang Lin had once more ventured upon the Bridges of Ascendancy and crossed the fifth! Whether he had succeeded at the sixth remained beyond his grasp, for his own limit lay upon that fifth bridge.

Beside the basin, once a boundless sea, within the deep mountains, the layers of ripples that had swirled for months finally dissipated. Wang Lin emerged from within, his countenance serene.

His appearance and expression seemed unchanged from months past. Yet, upon closer inspection, one would gradually discern that Wang Lin now possessed the aura of a mortal, with no discernible trace of celestial power within his vessel.

Clad in a white robe, he stood outside the basin that was once a vast ocean. He turned to cast a lingering gaze upon the lands of the Ancient Clan. After a long silence, he abruptly turned, transforming into a streak of light, heading straight for the opposite end of the boundless basin, toward the Immortal Clan!

“Madman,” he murmured, “Years ago, I swore that when I returned to the ancestral city’s palace, I would rescue you! If you are willing to depart with me, then none in this Immortal-Astral Continent can stop us.

If you choose to become the Immortal Emperor, then you shall be a true emperor, awakened from your slumber!”

“And Situ, Qing Shui, Shisan, Datou, Red Spider…” he continued, “You are all upon this Immortal-Astral Continent, yet no longer among the Ancient Clan. You must have been reincarnated upon the lands of the Immortal Clan. This time, I shall find you!”

“And…” Li Qianmei…” A hint of complexity flickered in Wang Lin’s eyes as he sighed softly. His speed increased, a hundredfold faster than his first crossing, vanishing in a blink.

“In the end, I must return to the Seven Dao Sect, to the Cave World, to Planet Vermillion Bird…” he vowed, “That is where my home lies.”

Without pause, Wang Lin journeyed onward, and in mere days, he beheld the sight that lay at the heart of the boundless sea: an endless storm of towering sea walls.

The booming thunder of the storm could be heard from afar. As he drew closer, he could see the shattered remnants of space, formed by the ceaseless rotation of the last two hundred years.

An oppressive aura emanated from within the sea wall storm, spreading outwards in all directions.

The heavy scent of the sea filled the air, and the deafening roar shook the very heavens and earth. Wang Lin stood thousands of feet from the sea wall, gazing at the nine colossal pillars that formed a gateway deep within, his eyes flashing with keen insight.

He knew that in three hundred years, this gateway would open. When that moment arrived, he would return, and with Li Muwan by his side, he would step through, using the power of reincarnation to transcend the cycle of rebirth, bringing her back to life!

“There, perhaps I can find the truth…” Wang Lin murmured. He took a step forward, intending to pierce the sea wall storm, but in that instant, he abruptly raised his head.

The sky was dim, the gloom cast by the ceaseless churning of the sea wall. All around, the roar continued, as if no other sound existed.

Everything seemed tranquil, as if nothing was amiss. Yet Wang Lin stared at the sky, halting his departure. He stood there, as if awaiting something.

Ten breaths passed, and then, a crack echoed from the darkened sky, a sound that was jarring and earth-shattering. It overwhelmed the roar of the sea wall, causing the very heavens and earth to tremble.

A massive rift had been torn open in the dusky firmament, spewing forth torrents of mist that engulfed the surroundings. Then, a hazy figure stepped out of the rift, one step at a time.

“Gu Dao!” Wang Lin said, his expression unwavering, as he watched the billowing mist transform the darkened sky into a realm of swirling fog. He watched the figure emerging within.

“Wang Lin!” The voice that echoed from within the mist was raspy. The figure gradually emerged, yet remained shrouded within the fog.

This moment held profound significance for the Immortal-Astral Continent. It was the first meeting of the two most powerful beings on the Immortal-Astral Continent!

It was the first time that the gazes of the only two individuals on the entire continent who had one foot in the Ascendant realm locked.

The previous encounter on the Ancient Dao Mountain, where they were separated by the difference in cultivation, and that overlooking of the tower, could not compare to this moment.

“You knew I was coming?” The figure within the mist spoke after a moment of silence.

Wang Lin stood calmly, his robes dancing in the wind, a few strands of white hair fluttering. He nodded, gazing at the shrouded figure.

“How many Bridges of Ascendancy did you cross on your second journey?” Gu Dao asked after another long silence, sighing softly as he spoke.

“That is not important,” Wang Lin replied with a faint smile, his expression tranquil. “What matters is your purpose for being here.”

“You could slay Gu Zu’s descendant, Ye Dao. You could arbitrarily appoint anyone as the new Emperor. You could do anything you desired within the Ancient Clan…” The misty figure of Gu Dao said, his voice raspy, “But you must not leave the Ancient Clan!”

“Must not leave the Ancient Clan?” Wang Lin’s eyes flickered.

“Unless I cannot stop you,” the ancient voice of Gu Dao echoed from within the mist, “you must not leave.”

“I will not hinder you for long. Remain within the Ancient Clan for three hundred years, and when the Archaic God Realm opens, you may depart as you please.”

“Give me an explanation!” Wang Lin pondered for a moment, then slowly said.

“There is no explanation. I forbid you to leave, and so you must remain. Or, you may defeat me!” Gu Dao’s voice turned dark within the mist.

Wang Lin frowned slightly, glancing at the shrouded figure.

“On the Ancient Dao Mountain, I used your pressure to complete the fusion of the Ancient Immortal bloodline… That is one!

Within the Dao Ancient Imperial City, I slew Ye Dao. With my cultivation at the time, if you had acted, I would have had no chance of victory. But you remained silent. That is two!”
“Thrice hast thou allowed the rise of Jidu to the Jade Throne, and thrice hast thou stood aside, O Wang Lin! Three times dost thou forsake our ancient bloodline.”

Wang Lin, a warrior of fierce justice and unwavering debt, spoke with measured tones, “For these three transgressions, I shall endure within the lands of the Ancient Ones for a century more, granting thee respite without demand of explanation. But when that century wanes, I shall depart, and the remaining two centuries of my bond shall remain unfulfilled.”

Silence echoed from within the swirling mists, and at last, a voice, heavy with age, emerged.

“A century…is insufficient. The Celestial Shrine of the Ancients…it must awaken. Wang Lin, I desire no clash with thee, for my hand has not known battle for ages beyond count. Grant me three more centuries, and upon their completion, thou art free to leave, nay, I shall bestow upon thee a recompense for thy patience!” From within the ethereal shroud, the voice of Gu Dao rasped.

Wang Lin, too, harbored no wish for conflict with Gu Dao. Their bond was tangled, woven with threads of fate and obligation. No righteous cause compelled Wang Lin to draw steel unless his foe deemed his captivity absolute, leaving no room for parley.

“I pose but one question,” Wang Lin began, his voice ringing with curiosity. “With power enough to sweep aside the entirety of the Immortal Ancestors’ legions, why then dost thou safeguard the existence of the Immortal Clan?”

The mists churned once more as Gu Dao pondered the query. This question haunted the minds of the Ancient Clan’s mightiest warriors and the Immortal Clan’s wisest mages. Through countless ages, none had dared to seek its answer from Gu Dao himself.

“The gift bestowed upon me by our Ancient Ancestor…it is…different…from thine.” After an eternity, the voice of Gu Dao emerged from the mists, laced with a hint of complexity.

Wang Lin observed Gu Dao’s ethereal form, his eyes gleaming with understanding. He seemed to have grasped the essence of the enigma.

“Enough, Wang Lin! Either vanquish me in combat, or remain bound by thy oath. There is no other path!” The mists surrounding Gu Dao swelled and writhed, unleashing a cacophony of sound that mingled with the roar of the celestial tide, coalescing into a deafening wave of power that underscored his words.

“If battle is thy wish, then battle it shall be!” Wang Lin roared, his eyes blazing with newfound resolve. If conflict was inevitable, he would test the limits of his power against Gu Dao’s, and determine who truly stood as the supreme champion of the Immortal Continent!

This battle would be the first of its kind since the disappearance of the Immortal and Ancient Ancestors, a clash between the two mightiest beings on the continent! A summit of power!

Gu Dao, hailed as the foremost warrior of the Immortal Continent, had ascended to the Realm of Ascended Heaven countless millennia ago. Though he had stalled at the Sixth Bridge, his prowess in combat was unmatched, a testament to his victory over even a Grand Empyrean!

Wang Lin, fused with the essence of both Immortal and Ancient lineages, stood on a path without end. With merely two of his True Bodies completed, he had already set one foot within the Ascended Heaven Realm. He could not fathom what might await him upon the completion of his final, ephemeral True Body!

Furthermore, he possessed the phantom avatar, which had matured over centuries, its power poised to explode when united with Wang Lin himself!

As the mists surrounding Gu Dao billowed and boomed, the Grand Empyrean within took a decisive step toward Wang Lin. With each stride, the mist outside of his body expanded like a torrential wave, transforming into a colossal, grotesque mist beast. It lifted its head, unleashing a soul-shattering howl that reverberated through the heavens and earth.

The beast, an uncanny creature with nine heads, bore an unsettling resemblance to the alien beast, Ji Qiong, that Wang Lin had encountered within the ancient God’s domain!

As the nine heads roared, radiating a savage aura, they emanated an ancient, weathered sensation, as if the mist beast had existed for countless eons.

Within the mist beast, the Grand Empyrean Gu Dao lowered his foot and raised his right hand, extending a finger that was enshrouded in mist. A curved nail, glistening with a cold, ominous light, was vaguely visible.

With a single flick of that finger, the entire world shifted before Wang Lin’s eyes. Countless threads snaked across the sky, and the ground was similarly laced. All within the heavens and earth was permeated with the fabric of cosmic law.

These threads of rule, as if manipulated by an invisible hand, twisted and converged, binding themselves to Wang Lin. Winds and lightning, thunder and lightning, and even the five elements of gold, wood, water, fire, and earth manifested around Wang Lin, converging upon him with explosive force!

As they drew nearer, these countless abilities suddenly fused, forming a phantom finger constructed of countless threads of rule. Bearing a curved nail and an aura of utter destruction, it descended toward Wang Lin’s brow!